A garden machine that's serviced regularly starts first time, works harder, and lasts years longer than one that's run until it breaks. Most of what goes wrong with mowers, chainsaws, trimmers and the rest isn't a fault: it's a wear part that was never replaced, or a machine that was put away dirty and full of stale fuel over winter.
This guide runs through what to do and when, across the year, to keep your machine in good order. It's written around the UK seasons, so if you're reading from elsewhere in the world, the short note below explains how to translate the timings for where you are.
None of this needs a workshop. The parts are inexpensive, most of the jobs are straightforward, and doing them at the right time of year is most of the battle.
If you're outside the UK
The timings here follow the UK growing season: spring service in roughly March, heavy use through summer, wind-down and storage over winter. If you're in the southern hemisphere, your seasons are reversed, so read the advice by season rather than by month. In Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, "spring service" means around September to October, and "winter storage" means your cooler months from roughly May to August. The jobs are exactly the same, they just fall at the opposite end of the calendar.
Wherever you are, we ship the service parts you need on a tracked service. There are dedicated guides for shipping to Australia and shipping to New Zealand, and full details for every destination on the shipping and tracking page. One thing to note for overseas orders: oils and other liquids can't be sent by air to some countries, so plan to buy your fresh oil locally.
Spring: the pre-season service
The single most valuable thing you can do all year. A proper spring service is why some machines start on the first pull after a winter in the shed while others need a trip to the repair shop.
Change the engine oil (four-stroke machines)
Old oil degrades and holds the grit and combustion residue of last year's use. Draining it and refilling with fresh oil is the biggest single favour you can do a four-stroke engine, and it takes ten minutes. Two-stroke machines (most chainsaws, many trimmers and blowers) don't have separate engine oil, so this one doesn't apply to them.
Replace the air filter
A season's dust and grass clogs an air filter, and a blocked filter chokes the engine, wastes fuel and makes starting hard. Some filters can be cleaned, but if it's been a year and it's cheap to replace, fit a new one. Browse air filters.
Fit a new spark plug
A fresh plug transforms starting and running on a machine that's been sitting. Plugs are inexpensive and it's an annual job worth doing without thinking about it.
Replace or clean the fuel filter, and use fresh fuel
If the machine was stored with fuel in it, that fuel is now stale (more on avoiding that under winter storage). Drain any old fuel, fit a fresh fuel filter if it's due, and start the season on fresh fuel. Stale fuel is one of the most common reasons a machine won't start in spring.
Sharpen or replace the cutting parts
A blunt mower blade tears grass rather than cutting it, which stresses the engine and leaves a ragged, browning lawn. A blunt chainsaw chain is slow and dangerous. Sharpen if there's life left, replace if not. Browse chainsaw chain and chain and blade sharpening equipment.
The efficient way to handle a spring service is a service kit, which bundles the air filter, fuel filter and spark plug for your specific machine. Browse engine service kits.
Summer: keeping it running through the busy season
Summer is when the machine earns its keep, so the jobs here are about upkeep rather than a full strip-down.
Keep the air filter clean. In peak season it clogs faster, and a quick check and clean every few weeks keeps the engine breathing. Clear grass and debris from the deck, cooling fins and around the engine after use: built-up grass traps heat and moisture, and a clogged cooling system makes an engine run hot. Keep cutting parts sharp, since they dull through the season and a mid-summer touch-up keeps the machine cutting cleanly. And keep an eye on drive belts and cables, which stretch and wear under load; catching a worn belt before it snaps saves a breakdown mid-job.
On chainsaws and trimmers worked hard through summer, check the trimmer head or the bar and chain regularly, and keep the chain properly tensioned and oiled. A dry bar ruins chains and bars quickly.
Autumn: the end-of-season check
As use tails off, autumn is the time to deal with anything that's been nagging and to get ahead of next year.
It's the natural moment to replace worn parts you've been nursing through the season: a stretched belt, a tired recoil rope, a blade that's done its time. Fixing them now means the machine is ready to go in spring rather than needing work before you can use it.
Autumn is also leaf-clearing and, for some, the start of the log-cutting season, so it's when blowers and chainsaws come into their own. If your chainsaw has sat unused since last winter, give it the same checks as a spring mower service before you rely on it: chain, bar, plug, filter and fresh fuel.
Winter: storing the machine properly
How you put a machine away decides how it comes back. Most spring starting problems are made in the previous winter.
Deal with the fuel
Stale fuel is the number one winter killer. Petrol left in a tank and carburettor for months degrades, gums up the carburettor and blocks small fuel passages. You have two options: either run the machine dry (run it until it stops, so there's no fuel left to go stale), or treat the fuel with a fuel stabiliser if you're storing it with fuel in. Either works. Doing neither is what leads to a carburettor strip-down in spring.
Clean it before it goes away
Grass, mud and debris left on a machine over winter holds moisture against metal, and moisture means corrosion. A proper clean-down before storage, especially of the deck, blades and cooling fins, pays off in spring.
Protect against corrosion and store dry
Store the machine somewhere dry. A light film of oil on exposed metal cutting parts helps hold off rust over a damp winter. On battery machines, store the battery per the manufacturer's guidance, usually somewhere cool and dry rather than on the charger or in a freezing shed.
Get parts in before the spring rush
Winter is the quiet, sensible time to order any parts the machine will need for spring, before everyone else remembers their mower in the first warm week of the year. Ordering ahead means the machine is ready when the grass starts growing.
Common questions about servicing garden machinery
How often should I service my garden machine?
A full service once a year, at the start of the season, suits most domestic machines, with quick checks (air filter, cutting parts, belts) through the busy months. Machines used heavily or commercially need servicing more often.
Can I service my mower myself?
Most routine servicing (oil, air filter, spark plug, fuel filter, blade) is well within reach of anyone reasonably practical, with basic tools. The interactive diagrams show exactly which parts fit your machine, and the Help and Advice guides cover the specifics. For anything you're unsure about, the team can help identify the right parts.
What is a service kit?
A service kit bundles the common service parts (typically the air filter, fuel filter and spark plug) for a specific machine, so you get everything for an annual service in one go rather than ordering each part separately. Browse engine service kits.
Why won't my machine start after winter?
Nine times out of ten it's stale fuel gumming up the carburettor, an old spark plug, or a clogged air filter, which is exactly why the spring service covers all three. Starting the season on fresh fuel with a new plug and clean filter resolves most no-start problems.
Do two-stroke machines need different servicing?
Two-stroke machines (most chainsaws, many trimmers and blowers) don't have separate engine oil to change, since the oil is mixed with the fuel. Otherwise the principles are the same: clean air filter, fresh plug, fresh correctly-mixed fuel, sharp cutting parts, and proper winter storage.
Servicing a garden machine isn't complicated, and it isn't expensive. It's a short list of inexpensive parts fitted at the right time of year: a proper service in spring, quick checks through summer, tidying up in autumn, and careful storage over winter. Do that, and the machine starts when you need it and lasts far longer. If you need the parts for any of it, the interactive diagrams will match them to your exact machine, and the Contact Us button at the bottom of every page will get you the team's help if you're unsure.
